Angel's POV

These people were so boring. Everyone was still sort of nervous, since we didn't really know each other. The bus was almost silent.

Then something shot a hole through the roof.

"Everybody OUT!" Max was screaming at everyone, and they obeyed.

Me, Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, Rowena and Fang each jumped out our respective windows. Camden, Jacen, Antoinette and Simian followed us, while Heather just sat there screaming. Max leaped out the windshield once we were all out.

Once in the air, I started towards the nearest attacker. They looked human but they had mechanical wings and no thoughts. It was as if they had robots grown inside of them and it was disgusting. I ducked underneath and behind the robot thing and kicked its neck. It shuddered, and then fell to the cement road. I looked around and saw the robots dropping like flies.

It was good to be better.

Iggy's POV

The two human-robots I was fighting took no time at all. Kicking at where one was, it flew backwards into the other one, which accidentally shot the one I had kicked.

"Awesome!" I heard the sound of sparks flying and a small explosion where it hit the road.

"Yo! Watch where you throw those things!" From the sound of it, Rowena had almost been crushed by the falling chunks of robot-human. I then heard the sound of feet against metal and knew she was fighting it.

"Can't! I'm blind!"

"You…go…die…in…HELL!" Punctuating each word with another kick it sounded like Rowena could hold her own. Man, that girl could kick some ass.

I heard a scream from in the bus, and realized that Heather was still in there, being absolutely no help. She was going to hear about that from Max later. Speaking of Max…she was looking after Gazzy, who had been clipped by a bullet from one of the Robos.

I heard a crack from below me. Rowena had taken off the Robos' head. Angel put a picture of her in my mind. Her hair was messed up, she had a cut along her arm and her clothes were practically in shreds, but she looked fierce and powerful. The smile on her face was victorious.

And who was to blame her? She had just killed her first Robo.

Max's POV

Why did Heather have to be one of the genetic experiments? Why couldn't it have been someone useful? Why did she have to be so unable to fight, so annoying, and so freakin' vain? Why can't I throw her off a tall, tall cliff?

These are the kinds of questions I asked myself as we walked along. Yes, we were walking, not flying, or driving, because not all of us could fly and we now had no car. Or bus. Chances are, we found this homey little cave far enough away from civilization to be able to fly but close enough that Fang and Nudge could raid a nearby McDonalds.

"Mhhhmmm this is heaven…" Jacen had hamburger all over his face.

"No freakin' duh." Camden spoke up publicly for probably the first time since we met.

"So he can talk!" Iggy poked him, earning a laugh from him as well.

I looked around at my flock and the newcomers to our life. Nudge and Antoinette were leaning against the wall, probably talking about clothes or shoes. Iggy and Gazzy were crowded around Camden and the fire, discussing something secretive and almost definitely dangerous. Jacen and Simian were sitting all the way in the back by Fang, trying to get him to talk. Angel was sitting by me, and Rowena was talking earnestly to her. I could see Heather in a corner, eating her salad in perfect silence.

There are so many of us now, it seems unreal. I turn to join Rowena and Angel in their conversation.

"Is he your boyfriend now?" Angel's eyes were wide with the innocence of the young.

"Oh, absolutely not! My boyfriend's Damon, not Fang." Rowena laughs and rolls her eyes playfully.

I feel a burning rage in my heart and a pain for Rowena's poor, poor boyfriend.

"So you have a boyfriend and you still kissed Fang." I glare at her, and she becomes quieter.

"I thought he was going to kill me. I needed to do something shocking so he would stop. And my boyfriend's a freshman, so he won't find out about it."

Something in her changed for that one second. The light in her eyes went out, all the cheerfulness drained from her face. It was as if all the happy, all the good had been sucked out of her very soul, removing the mask, and leaving behind a girl who had been hurt more times than needed.

Sheesh.

You see what these people do to me?

Baaaddd, bad things.

Nudge's POV

All while I was talking with Antoinette, I kept stealing glances at Simian. It wasn't like I was distracted at all-Antoinette was like my perfect friend, since she LOVES shopping and fashion and she lived in France up until last year which is SO totally awesome I wish we could live in France then we could eat croissants EVERY DAY and it's like the fashion center of the UNIVERSE and me and Antoinette have GOT to go shopping really soon because she has like the best fashion sense in the world aside from me of course and-

Okay, I'm paying attention now. Simian just glanced back at me.

I think Antoinette noticed me staring at him. She whipped her head around at look at him, then looked back at me with a smirk on her face.

"You like ihmm?"

"Well, he's reallyyyy cute I mean his hair is soooooo short and it seems fuzzy. Is it fuzzy? Ooooo I hope so! And even though I haven't seen him up close I bet his eyes are the most wonderful green they look like it from over here and-"

Antoinette poked me and I shut up.

"Eeff you would like, I may be ahble to ghet him to like you."

Ohmygod my heart just exploded.

I hug Antoinette fiercely and steal a glance at Simian over her shoulder.

I think he looked back this time.